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Kmart Exclusive Imperial Scanning Crew

Yoda's News posted images of these sets - one set packaged and loose and the other only loose. The first set comes with the repacked scanning crew member and a stormtrooper and the second comes with the unreleased scanning crew member and an Imperial officer (a black-suited repaint of Needa with a new head). It looks like they packed the equipment with the opposite figure it was supposed to ship with initially, a pretty sneaky way to get people to rebuy the existing figure.

I was initially excited by these, but now I'm kind feeling a bit "meh" about them. I don't really need more stormtroopers and I wish they would've used an officer sculpt with better knees on it and in different colors. I'm sure I'll end up buying at least a few.

I got both sets a few days ago. The original photography was misleading - the Imperial Scanning Crew includes the previously-unreleased Imperial Technician, the previously-unreleased scanning equipment, and Stormtrooper TK-421; Death Star Scanning Crew includes the 2009 figure, the 2009 scanning accessory, and a black-suited Imperial Officer. TK-421, which is I believe the first individually named Stormtrooper figure, is modified from the OTC sculpt. Instead of a detonator, the belt has the grappling hook box and a removable, incredibly small white comlink and its holster. This is the trooper whose armor Luke steals, so hopefully they'll include the belt on a future Stormtrooper Luke release. The Imperial Officer is a repaint of Captain Needa with a new head, and I believe the first black-suited officer in this mold. It could have used a more updated sculpt, like Tarkin or the Imperial Navy Commander, but the figure still works fine. I'm not sure if he's based on a specific officer from the film, and a lack of good internet connectivity prevents me from researching to my full ability (for at least a little while :P ). The "new" accessory fits right in top of the other one, and also opens to reveal sculpted detail and removable equipment. It's pretty cool.

Unfortunately, the paint on some of the figures is quite misaligned, particularly around sideburns. And since the figures are packed out of sight, you don't really have a choice. But the sets are still very much worth it.

There's the new E-11 Stormtrooper blaster, it's got a sharp sculpt and a fold-out stock. There's one in each set, and both are packed with the stock not actually attached at its hinge point. It works well and looks alright, but there is a notable amount of bulk as well so it's not perfect.

The stormtrooper, TK-421, has probably the smallest accessory ever, and it will likely get lost quickly but it fits well in the hand. This figure's belt is indeed seen in the film before his armor is stolen by Luke, whereas the rest of the troopers all have the standard armor, it's pretty slick that the film is accurate there. The left hand on mine was fused with a glop of flash, it's so small I'm not sure I can carve it out, but I may have a tiny drillbit that could auger it out if I really need to. The figure's belt is a very nice addition and makes this worthwhile. Unfortunately, its helmet sculpt is very dated now and feels somewhat out of place, so it's a tradeoff. The belt's holster won't hold the included blaster because it's the new one, and the tech's holster surely wouldn't and would look weirder without a gun in it.

The Imperial Technician is nice to have, new faces are good, but we already have the body so I'm not freaking out over it. The tech's scanning equipment box is the star of the show, it's got a removable lid, a hand-held accessory that snaps into the main tray, a scanner gun on a hose that also plugs into the tray, and the tray itself can be popped out the bottom to get stuff aligned. If that weren't enough, the scanner box even has 2 cutouts for the figures' hands to carry it just like in the film, although keep in mind the cutouts are a wee bit small so hands will get stuck in there and have to be removed a little carefully.

That set is superior in every way to the other.

The black-suited officer of the other set comes with the new E-11 accessory. The figure appears to be representing Lt. Pol Treidum, the officer who was calling out to TK-421 when Chewbacca whomped him in docking control room 327, killing him dead. The face is longer than the movie character but there is some similarity with the broad nostrils and long sideburns, The removable hat makes this figure more interesting than without. The body feels like a throwback, and it's considerably taller than the others. Mine has a mispainted eyebrow giving a quizzical expression, and had joint lock on the hip but a quick hot water bath followed by an overnight cooldown fixed it nicely.

The scanning tech is a rehash of the '09 release with the same head and accessory in the scanning cart. This cart rolls nicer and has much more accurate paint, and it fits the scanning box from the other set quite nicely. It's not a bad piece to get at this price for an exclusive.

I'd recommend this set as much as an army-builder for non-armored Imperial forces as a companion to the other set, but it's clearly not as good.

So uh... how did 3PO and R2 get into the smuggling compartments?

Darth Vader is becoming the Mickey Mouse of Star Wars.

"In Brooklyn, a castle, is where dwell I"

The use of a lightsaber does not make one a Jedi, it is the ability to not use it.

I think these sets are by far the best thing Hasbro has put out this year. I got my first sets last week and plan on buying several more as I find them to have more random imperials. Another great point is the price which seems quite reasonable for what you get. I'd love to see Kmart get a tturbo laser with a gunner next year similar to the one that came in the original Death Star play set. I'd buy several of those.

What has happened to scalping these days: buying just one item, selling it for no mark-up? I mean, where's the fighting? Where's the gotta-pay-for-the-grandkids'-college lines? Where's the anger? So sad, it makes me trail off in despair...

"I went to Star Wars Celebration VII in Anaheim, and I didn't get even a lousy t-shirt."